Eta founder arrested in extortion inquiry

Tuesday 20 June 2006 09.58 EDT
First published on Tuesday 20 June 2006 09.58 EDT

Police in France and Spain arrested a founding member of the armed Basque separatist group Eta on Tuesday in an operation against an alleged extortion racket. The operation followed reports in Spanish newspapers that, despite having declared a "permanent ceasefire" in March, the terrorist group was still extorting money from local businesses in the northern Basque region of Spain.

Julen Madariaga, a founder of Eta in the 60s who was widely believed to have separated from the group long ago, was among 11 others arrested in the joint police operation.

Mr Madariaga, 73, has given his support to Aralar, a separatist Basque party that opposes Eta's violence, in recent years. Aralar is regarded as a rival for Eta's political allies in the banned Batasuna party. Many of those arrested were reported to be in their 60s and 70s, and to be well-known separatist sympathisers.

"This is an attack on the hopes for peace," Batasuna leader Arnaldo Otegi said after the arrests.

The arrest came as Spain's Socialist prime minister, José Luis Rodriguez Zapatero, was said to be on the brink of announcing that the government would formally open talks with Eta.

Observers said the detentions could help head off criticism that the government had gone soft on Eta as it tried to wean the group, which has not killed for three years, away from terrorism.

Newspapers speculated that Mr Zapatero would make the historic announcement of direct talks during a routine parliamentary appearance on Wednesday. If so, the announcement will come just three days after Mr Zapatero's party won a referendum in Catalonia to settle the debate over the text of a new autonomy charter for the wealthy eastern region. That victory has opened the way for the reform of the charters of Spain's 16 other semi-autonomous regions, which include the Basque country.

Eta said recently it was still hopeful that a definitive peace deal could be reached. The group, which would like parts of south-west France to join an independent Basque country, has criticised the French government for refusing to get involved in the peace process. France has said that it is an internal matter for Spain, where Eta has carried out its terror attacks.

France has, however, traditionally been where Eta's command and logistics operations have been based.